Masala Dosa and the Way of Life

Yes, I hope the title made you smile or laugh. If it didn’t I am sure that you be too shocked to react to it. Anyways, this is not just for laughs but some things I have noticed in life. Hope you all can relate to this and if so, please do let me know. Do let me know in case something is not right as well.

There are many ways to eat a masala dosa. I have seen people approach the dosa as if it is on an operation table as they carefully open the dosa, see if everything is ok and then proceed to eat it as if it is an open dosa. I have seen people eat all the masala and then wonder what to do with the rest of the dosa. I have also seen people carefully plan and eat the dosa and then throw away most of the masala. What ever the way you eat, there is a very good reason you do that. It shows some traits of the person that is you.

Case 1: People who open the masala dosa and eat it: These are the people who are very open about their life. Everyone one the persons friends would know all about him/her. I have generally seen guys do this rather than girls. Some people think that it is a gross way of eating but in truth, these people are just portraying who they are and how their life is.

Case 2: People who start from both end and approach the masala later: These are the people who like to wait for the exiting things to come to their life. Sadly when the times comes, they are not too interested or just do not know how to enjoy it to the fullest. These are the folks who just want life as either dry or exiting. They just do not know how to phase their life and enjoy it no matter what. There are two types of people within this group

Case 2.1: People who do not finish all the masala: These folks just do not care as much for the fun times as they are already brought down by the harsh reality of life. The dry periods in their life has left them with so much scars that they do not want to be really happy when the time is right. They just take only as much as they needed and end their life. A very sorry state indeed.

Case 2.2: People who finish all the masala with the little dosa they have: These are the folks who just are the extremes. They just go all out in life. No matter it is dark or bright. They may not enjoy life to the fullest but they sure make sure that they get every single good and bad thing out of life. Sometimes these folks are really hard to get along with. They are either your best friends or your worst enemies. They do not have a middle path at all.

Case 3: People who start from the middle and proceed to both ends: These are the people who like to get right to what they think is their best part of life. Usually these guys finish of the good portions in a hurry and get stuck with nothing but worst parts of their life. The thing to note among these people is that the tendency to burn out very early in their life. Like the above case, there are two kinds of people in this group too.

Case 3.1: People who do not finish the dosa: These folks are really the saddest of people. They are the ones who tend to end their life as soon as it hits the bad patch. For them, they only need and want the best things in life and nothing more. Typically, they are not prepared or tuned to life as a whole. They just want to enjoy from first till last. Sadly, no one in the world can live without even an ounce of sadness in life. Not even the richest of the richest. But to self destruct at the mere sign of distress is very bad. That is what these guys tend to do. Some learn to live life but most of them do not.

Case 3.2: People who do finish the dosa: These folks are the typical human beings. We all enjoy the greatest of times in life and push the sad parts thinking about the great times in life. Typically the plate is clean and nothing is left for fate or in life. Happiness and sadness are part of life and these guys know that and are kind of prepared for it. Life is not always happy but there are moments of happiness here and there.

Case 4: People who eat the dosa making sure that the masala lasts for the whole dosa: These people are very rare. These are the people who like to attain balance in their life. It is hard to displease these people and it is hard to make them really happy. They like their balance and are very protective of it. Sadly these are the people who tend to be lonely as anyone else may upset the balance of their system. Perfectionist to the core and are very careful. These guys do not make the best company but are needed in any group to make the group from going hay wire.

Case 5: People who do not share and eat the dosa as if it is precious: These folks are very protective about their life. They do not want anyone to come and interfere in their life. They like to hide their true nature and intensions for their benefit. Beware of such people as they are in every group for their own need and nothing else.

Case 6: People who offer their first bite to others: These guys are overly friendly. They do anything to be part of a group and make everyone feel like the group is important than the individuals. They are the glue that holds any group together. They are very friendly and bring the best of all the others in the group. They go out of their way to help other friends. Most groups should have a person like this and they are the ones who plan the group outings and other group activities. Once this person is out of the group, typically the group slowly falls apart.

Case 7: People who take one or two bites and then offer the dosa to others: These guys care about friends and friendship but they take their time to get into the group. They take their time in making friends and they typically are very committed once into the friendship. These guys like to always be in the side lines and typically do not jump into anything in life. They always take their time to analyze the situation and then make a decision. These guys take the better safe than sorry approach.

Case 8: People who wait for others to make the offer first: Typical people I must say. They are unsure about everything. Even if they wanted to offer, they will wait till the other person offers the food first. If the other person is silent, so are these people. They are the followers. They do most of the things in life with respect to other people’s choices and advices. Even if they have a terrific idea, they will pitch it to someone else and get their advice before proceeding. Sadly, most of the elderly world like these types of people.

Case 9: People who offer dosa only when they cannot finish it on their own: You all may be familiar with these kinds of people. People who are very generous only when all their needs are fulfilled. These folks are selfish but at the same time not misers or greedy. They just want to satisfy themselves before they give it to the world. They typically do not stuff themselves nor do they tend to starve. They are very good people who would give you the best of advices in life. They would make sure that you are not sad following their advice.

Case 10: People who offer the whole dosa and eat from others plates: These folks are other extreme. They know what they want, they get what they want but they cannot enjoy what they want. Instead they tend to settle for other things in life which satisfies the needs but does not satisfy the person completely. These guys are termed as born losers cause even when they have the thing they wanted, they can’t stop others from stealing it from them.

I dont fall in any of these categories. For people like me, all these should be clubbed together or there should not be a category at all. If insisted, I will fall under this category :

Case 11: People who eat masala dosa the way it is presented and order one more :-)
So next time you sit with a person eating a masala dosa, look closely and see if he falls into one of the above categories. You may be surprised as how much it reveals about the person…

Lost & Found

I never dreamt that I will some day write a blog on this subject. I have seen people who have lost their wallet, cell phones, thief robbing their house, and so on......
Till yesterday, I was one of the lucky guys who haven't faced any of these situations. Only till yesterday.

I have lost an Ipod Shuffle due to mishandling by PROFESSIONAL COURIERS.

Please do not do any bussiness with this courier service. I know its a mistake of just a single person but it has cost me more than 4000 rs.

Till now I have made 12 Phone calls, visited 3 offices in Bangalore. Troubled the Kolhapur office, and still I am not able to get even a small trace of where the package is. Whether it has been shipped out of Bangalore, whether it has reached Kolhapur, or whether it has been shipped and something has happened in between. I have received 100 reasons as to why it has not reached its destination.

Now everytime I see a courier advertisement or a shop, I keep remembering my tragic story. In the Future I am not going to send anything through any Indian courier services. It will be either DHL, BlueDart, or SPEEDPOST. even if they do not gurantee the sound condition of the item, at least they deliver it on time. Sorry to all the courier services in India. A small mistake of a courier boy has shattered my faith in the whole courier service.

Some advice to all of you :

1. Never send any electronic. gift item by courier, or else you will end up like me.

2. Avoid using private couriers. Speedpost gurantees delivery within 48 hours.

3. Even if the courier is of minor importance to you, it will be of great importance to the recepient. So whatever you send, Make a declaration along with the payment receipts and produce it in front of the courier boy. If not done, the courier people can find 10 excuses if the package is lost. In my case : these are the various reasons I've got :

• The transport bus stops at Belgaum, and maybe there was some misplacement done over there.
• Maybe the Custom people have confisticated it since it did not have bills. Even a 50 rs doll is confisticated.
• Please check with our Customer care.
• Please confirm with the shipping office whether the item is shipped or not.
• Tell me the name of the boy who booked your courier. Please contact the office from where you booked.
• It is shipped on 26th and within 48 hours it will be shipped. <-----------This one was told to me after 60 hours had passed.
• When I booked the courier, I specifically told him that this is a gift item and are you ready to ship it ?,He said,"Sure why not ? " And now when it is lost, they say, "We dont ship gift items."
• We dont keep track of it. Whatever packages are booked are dumped in a box and sent to the main office.

4. Remember the name and phone number of the courier boy who booked your parcel.

5. Always remember, however precious/costly the courier is, if it is confirmed that it is lost in mislandling, the courier service will not pay you more than 100 rs if it is not insured. So think twice before sending a costly item.

6. Avoid buying electronic items from ebay, indiatimes etc. They send it via courier only. And once it is handed to the courier service, their job is done. It is assumed that the item has reached you. No matter what happens in between.